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The differences between operations technicians and operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operations technician has an average salary of $40,899, which is higher than the $37,928 average annual salary of an operator.
The top three skills for an operations technician include customer service, hand tools and preventative maintenance. The most important skills for an operator are safety procedures, CDL, and emergency calls.
| Operations Technician | Operator | |
| Yearly salary | $40,899 | $37,928 |
| Hourly rate | $19.66 | $18.23 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 191,960 | 159,077 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
An operations technician is a plant employee responsible for monitoring and operating facilities of work platforms in a firm. To ensure supply availability and reduce rig downtime, operations technicians collaborate with engineers to troubleshoot mechanical problems and perform maintenance. They promote production safety by implementing instructions and procedures following the company's safety and environmental standards. They also maintain records of equipment history and report accidents to the appropriate personnel.
Operators are skilled workers who are in charge of working on an industrial machine or a specific aspect of the manufacturing business. They are trained to operate machines, learning how to use them. They are also responsible for the maintenance and repair of the machine, and they should be able to troubleshoot problems and provide remedies to them. They must be knowledgeable about the different parts of the machine and how to mitigate any challenges that may arise. Operators should be alert, detail-oriented, and familiar with safety and health guidelines.
Operations technicians and operators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Technician | Operator | |
| Average salary | $40,899 | $37,928 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $55,000 | Between $27,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between an operations technician and an operator in terms of educational background:
| Operations Technician | Operator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between operations technicians' and operators' demographics:
| Operations Technician | Operator | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5% | Male, 73.0% Female, 27.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 16.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 2.5% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |